Stackable bottle system

ABSTRACT

A bottle having a storage chamber defined by spaced upper and lower surfaces and planar sidewalls; a conical ceiling in said upper surface having an opening at the top thereof; a conical convex recess in said lower surface for receiving the conical ceiling of the next adjacent bottle when stacking said bottles, and means for interlocking the sides and upper and lower surfaces of the bottles when stacked.

RELATIONSHIP OT PENDING US PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of pending United Statesnon-provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/981,719 filed Nov. 5,2004 by Dean Vincent Lane.

This application claims the benefit of domestic priority from U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/789,142 filed Apr. 5, 2006 by DeanV. Lane.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to containers, and moreparticularly to a system of stackable bottles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide a storage bottle which permits stacking ofbottles on the bottles' sides. Examples of such bottles include U.S.Pat. No. 4,892,207 to Cullis entitled: “Bottled Water Container”, U.S.Pat. No. 5,002,199 to Frahm entitled: “Stackable Bottle”, U.S. Pat. No.4,308,955 to Schieser et al. entitled: “Interfitting, StackableBottles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3, 889, 834 to Harris entitled: “ContainerConstruction”. Such stackable bottles are not ideal as the sidewaysstacking of bottles may increase the likelihood that the contents of thebottles will leak out of the bottles, particularly where the bottlecontents are liquid.

It is also known to provide stackable bottles which permit the nestingof the neck of one bottle into a recess in the bottom of another bottle.Examples of such bottles include those described in U.S. Pat. No.1,042,998 to Climalene entitled: “Improvements in Stackable Containers”,U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,469 to Mehta et al. entitled: “Stackable Bottle”,U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,793 to Brandt et al. entitled: “Stackable Bottle”,U.S. Design Pat. No. D466.413 to Justice entitled: “Stackable, NestingBeverage Container” and PCT Patent Application No. PCT/AU93/00380 toPreston entitled: “Stackable Water Bottles”. These nesting, stackablebottles do not include means for interlocking the sides or tops andbottoms of the bottles to provide stability to a stack of such bottles.In addition, nesting bottles often do not provide sufficient strength towithstand collapse under the pressure exerted by bottles stacked above.

In addition, stackable bottles are known which incorporate a nestingneck and interlocking means to connect their top and bottom surfaces.Examples of such bottles include U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,843 to Marisentitled: “Blow-Molded Containers” and U.S. Pat. No. 2,641,374 to DerYuen entitled: “Container”. Such bottles, however, do not include meansfor interlocking their side walls.

Other bottles are known which incorporate a nesting neck andinterlocking means to connect the sides of the bottles, including U.S.Pat. No. 6,588,612 to Dorn et al. entitled: “Plastic Container withStacking Recesses” and U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,658 to Hasselmann entitled:“Portable Container Transport Unit”. These bottles, however, do notinclude means for interlocking their top and bottom surfaces.

In the bottle described in U.S. Design Pat. No. D407,020 to Dotyentitled: “Stackable Polymeric Container for Liquids”, a stackablebottle is described in which the handles of the bottle are components ofthe horizontal interlocking means. Such a structure is less than idealin that the handles of the bottle will not be accessible when the bottleis in a stack.

In PCT Patent Publication No. WO/03055756 to Clark entitled: “ModularBottle”, a bottle is described which permits snug nesting of the neck ofone bottle into a recess in the bottom of another, as well as sideinterlocking means. The bottle is intended for use as a construction toyafter consumption of the beverage contained therein. The bottle does notprovide a planar top and bottom support surface for stable verticalstacking of bottles containing consumables.

Existing systems for packaging and shipping stackable bottles requirecardboard or other firm support structures to enclose the packagedbottles.

Ideally, a stackable bottle for use in a system of stackable bottlesshould have a neck and floor recess which generally are of a size to fitwith corresponding necks and recesses in other stackable bottles of thesystem. Such bottles should provide interlocking means for connectingthe sides of adjacent bottles and interlocking means for connecting thetop of one bottle to the bottom of another. The overall geometry of thebottles should be generally planar along the sides to optimize stackingvolume. Each such bottle should include at least one handle which isaccessible when the bottle is incorporated into a stack of such bottles.Such a bottle should be strong enough to permit vertical stackingwithout collapsing the lower bottles. An assembly of such bottles shouldbe packageable without a cardboard or other firm material support.

While the prior an contains some of these elements, none of the prior atbottles incorporate all of the desired characteristics of a stackablebottle and system of stackable bottles according to the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one of its aspects, the invention comprises a stackable storagebottle and a system of interlocking stackable storage bottles, eachbottle having a storage chamber with an upper surface, a conical ceilingextending upwardly from the upper surface, a lower surface, and at leastfour generally planar side walls; a cylindrical neck extending from thecenter of the conical ceiling and having an opening at its top end; aconical recess in the lower surface of a size sufficient to envelop theceiling, neck and cap of another storage bottle insertable therein; anindentation in at least one side wall to form a handle; verticalinterlocking means for releasably connecting each side wall to the sidewall of another storage bottle stackable adjacent thereto; andhorizontal interlocking means for releasably connecting the uppersurface to the lower surface of another storage bottle stackedthereabove.

In another aspect, each storage bottle may be stacked in an uprightposition above, below or beside another upright storage bottle to form astable bottle stack.

In a further aspect, each bottle may have a recess in at least one ofthe side walls for application thereto of a label. In yet anotheraspect, the storage bottles may be manufactured of a PET plasticmaterial.

In still a further aspect, the vertical interlocking means may compriseat least one recess on the side wall for engaging a correspondingprotrusion on the side wall of another storage bottle and the horizontalinterlocking means may comprise at least one recess in the lower surfacefor engaging a corresponding protrusion on the upper surface of anotherstorage bottle.

In yet a further aspect, the neck of each bottle may further comprise anexternal thread or protrusions for attachment thereto of a screw cap orsnap cap.

In still a further aspect, ribs may be incorporated on the conicalceiling, the conical recess, or the sidewalls to make the bottlestronger and increase the top load capability. The said ribs alsoimprove collapsibility of the bottle when empty to reduce volume at theend of the life cycle.

In a further aspect, the invention provides an assembly of a pluralityof stackable bottles wherein only the side walls of each bottle areadjacent each other bottle, to form a quadrilateral having opposedlateral sides. The assembly may have at least one band of a flexiblewrapping material encircling the exposed side walls of the assembly, anda strap of a flexible material extending between opposed sides of theassembly, each end of the strap connected to the band to form a handlefor the assembly.

Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by reference to thedescription of the preferred embodiment which follows and the drawingsthereof and to the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described by reference to the preferred embodimentand the drawings thereof in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a stackable bottle, depicting a labelrecess and one handle indentation, according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a stackable bottle, depicting two handleindentations and a cap, according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective bottom view of a stackable bottle, according tothe invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of two stackable bottles, demonstrating thenesting of the neck portion of one bottle with the floor recess of theother bottle, according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an assembly of four stackable bottles,according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a stack of bottles on a pallet, accordingto the system of the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST MODE AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THEINVENTION

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 3, a stackable bottle 2 according to thepresent invention comprises a storage compartment having an uppersurface 4 with a conical ceiling 6, a centrally disposed neck 8extending from the conical ceiling with an opening 10 therein, and alower surface 42. The bottle has four side walls 12, 14, 16, 18,vertical interlocking means comprising side wall protrusions 20, 22corresponding to side wall recesses 24, 26, and horizontal interlockingmeans comprising at least one upper surface protrusion 28 correspondingto at least one lower surface recess 46.

The side wall protrusions are of a size, relative to the size of theside wall recesses, which permits a releasable locational transition fitengagement of the protrusions into the recesses. Similarly, the uppersurface protrusions are of a size, relative to the size of the lowersurface recesses, which permits a releasable locational transition fitengagement of the protrusions into the recesses. As shown in FIG. 3, thelower surface 42 of the bottle incorporates a centrally disposed conicalrecess 44 and at least one peripheral recess 46 for engagement with anupper surface protrusion 28.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the neck 8 may have protrusions 30 forattachment of a snap cap 9. Alternatively, the neck 8 may have anexternal thread for attachment of a screw cap (not shown). At least oneindentation may be provided in a side wall to act as a handle. In theembodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, indentations 34, 36 are provided inthe vicinity of a corner and adapted to be grasped by the thumb andindex finger of one hand; although other manipulations are possible. Forexample, a user may engage one indentation 34 with one hand and anotherindentation 36 with the other hand to lift the bottle. A pair ofindentations 34, (not shown) between adjacent side walls 12, 14 may forma first handle at one of the side edges or corners of the bottle. Asecond pair of indentations 36, (not shown) may be formed between theremaining side walls 16, 18. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle may includeone or more shallow recesses 40 in the side wall surfaces forapplication of labels or other marking devices.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show ribs 31, 33, 35 incorporated on the bottle towithstand higher top load forces when stored together in a stack. Forexample, ribs may be located on the conical ceiling 31, the side wall 33or the conical recess 35. The ribs also improve collapsibility when thebottle is empty at the end of its life cycle.

In FIG. 4, two bottles are shown in stacked configuration demonstratingthe planar construction optimal for stable stacking which optimizesstack volume. The neck 8 and conical ceiling 6 of the upper surface ofthe lower bottle 50 are dimensioned to fit within the recess 44 in thelower surface of the upper bottle 52. The fit permits stacking ofbottles without causing damage to labels or seals disposed over themouth of the bottle. The side walls of the upper bottle 52 are fullysupported by the side walls of the lower bottle 50 aligned below. Aswell as providing a stability function, the horizontal interlockingmeans provides an alignment function to ensure stack stability.

As shown in FIG. 4 the stacked bottles are vertically disposed about anaxis defined through the stacked necks 8. The recess 44 in theembodiment shown in FIG. 4 presents a convex surface 51 which deflectsthe bottle towards the axis when the recess 44 of a bottle is mountedover the neck 8 of the bottle below. In other words, there is aself-centering aspect to the invention when stacking the bottlestogether which becomes useful especially when the bottles are filledwith liquid. When a bottle is filled with liquid it is difficult toaccurately center the bottles when stacking and accordingly the convexsurface 51 of the recess 44 will tend to deflect the bottle beingmounted over the next adjacent bottle towards the center of the axis.

FIG. 5 demonstrates the assembly of the invention, showing an assemblyof four stackable bottles 2. Bottles are aligned and interlockedhorizontally. The horizontally interlocked bottles may be wrapped in aflexible wrapping material 54, such as a flexible plastic, for packagingand shipping. A flexible strap 55 may extend between opposed sides ofthe assembly to form a central handle above the upper surfaces of thebottles. The strap may instead be oriented above the side walls of oneside of the assembly of bottles. The assembly of the invention permitspackaging of the bottles without the use of paper or other firmpackaging support material, thereby reducing packaging costs.

FIG. 6 demonstrates the system of the invention, showing a stack 56 of aplurality of stackable bottles 2 stacked on a pallet. Bottles arealigned and interlocked vertically as well as horizontally. Bottles maybe grouped into assemblies of four or more bottles wrapped in a flexiblewrapping material for ease of handling.

Furthermore the stacked bottles as shown in FIG. 6 are locked orinterlocked in three dimensions, namely, along two dimensions as theside walls of the bottles have recesses as well as protrusions; as wellas a third dimension, namely, axially as the bottoms and tops of thebottles interlock with the top protrusions and bottom recesses of thebottles. Such three dimensional interlock resists separation of thebottles in transit as well as concentrating the density of the storedmaterials packed in the manner described.

The system of the invention permits stacking of bottles in an uprightposition to discourage leakage and spillage during storage andtransport. Even where a seal fails, spillage will be much less thanwould be the case were the bottles stacked with the neck in a horizontalposition. One of the handles composed of indentations 34, 36 of eachbottle on the periphery of the stack is accessible to a handler, oncewrapping material is removed. No rack is necessary to hold the bottles,as the vertical and horizontal interlocking means provide stability tothe stack.

The bottles of the invention may be stacked in both empty and filledconditions. Bottles may be stacked during filling, transportation,storage prior to use, consumption of the consumable materials, andstorage after use prior to recycling, in the life cycle of the bottles.

The bottles of the invention may also incorporate means for identifyingthe contents of the storage bottles. Such identification means mayinclude colour coding, distinguishing structural features, or otheridentifying features for content identification purposes. Ideally, thematerial used for the manufacture of the bottles is transparent topermit visual identification of the bottle contents.

A number of methods known in the art can be utilized to manufacture thebottles previously described.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variationsof the preferred embodiment may also be practiced without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1. A system of interlocking storage bottles comprising: (a) a pluralityof storage bottles, each bottle having a storage chamber with an uppersurface, a lower surface and at least four generally planar side walls;(b) a central conical ceiling extending upwardly from the upper surface;(c) a cylindrical neck extending from the center of the ceiling havingan opening at its top end and protrusions for attachment thereto of acap; (d) a conical recess in the lower surface of a size sufficient toenvelop the ceiling, neck, and a cap of another storage bottleinsertable therein; (e) vertical interlocking means for releasablyconnecting each side wall to the side wall of another storage bottlestackable adjacent thereto; (f) horizontal interlocking means forreleasably connecting the upper surface to the lower surface of anotherstorage bottle disposable thereabove. (g) at least one indentation toform a handle
 2. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1wherein each storage bottle may be stacked in an upright position above,below or beside another upright storage bottle to for a stable bottlestack.
 3. The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 furthercomprising at least one indentation in each of at least two adjacentside walls to form a handle.
 4. The system of interlocking storagebottles of claim 1 further comprising a recess in at least one side wallfor application thereto of a label.
 5. The system of interlockingstorage bottles of claim 1 wherein each of the storage bottles ismanufactured of a PET plastic material.
 6. The system of interlockingstorage bottles of claim 1 wherein the vertical interlocking meanscomprises at least one recess on the side wall for engaging acorresponding protrusion on the side wall of another storage bottle. 7.The system of interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein thehorizontal interlocking means comprises at least one recess in the lowersurface for engaging a corresponding protrusion on the upper surface ofanother storage bottle.
 8. The system of interlocking storage bottles ofclaim 1 wherein the bottles in the stack of bottles are fillable with aconsumable material.
 9. The system of interlocking storage bottles ofclaim 1 wherein the bottles in the stack of bottles further comprisesribs in the conical ceiling to improve bottle strength.
 10. The systemof interlocking storage bottles of claim 1 wherein the bottles in thestack of bottles further comprises ribs in the conical ceiling and inthe conical recess to improve bottle strength.
 11. A consumables storagebottle having a storage chamber, a conical ceiling in an upper surface,a lower surface, and at least four generally planar side wallscomprising: (a) a cylindrical neck extending upwardly from the center ofthe conical ceiling and having an opening at its top end and protrusionsfor attachment thereto of a cap; (b) a conical recess extending upwardlyfrom the lower surface of a size sufficient to envelop the ceiling, neckand a cap of another storage bottle insertable therein; (c) verticalinterlocking means for releasably connecting each side wall to the sidewall of another storage bottle stackable adjacent thereto; (d)horizontal interlocking means for releasably connecting the uppersurface to the lower surface of another storage bottle disposablethereabove.
 12. The storage bottle of claim 11 further comprising atleast one indentation in each of two adjacent side walls to form ahandle.
 13. The storage bottle of claim 11 wherein the verticalinterlocking means comprises at least one recess on the side wall forengaging a corresponding protrusion on the side wall of another storagebottle.
 14. The storage bottle of claim 11 wherein the horizontalinterlocking means comprises at least one recess in the lower surfacefor engaging a corresponding protrusion on the upper surface of anotherstorage bottle.
 15. The storage bottle of claim 11 wherein each of thebottles is blow-moulded.
 16. A bottle as claimed in claim 11 furthercomprising ribs to improve bottle strength and allow the bottle to becollapsible at the end of the life cycle.
 17. A bottle as claimed inclaim 16 wherein the ribs are located within the conical ceiling and theconical recess.
 18. An assembly comprising a plurality of the bottles ofclaim 16, wherein only the side walls of each bottle are adjacent eachother bottle, to form a generally quadrilateral assembly.
 19. Theassembly of claim 18, further comprising at least one band of a flexiblewrapping material encircling the exposed side walls of the assembly. 20.The assembly of claim 19, further comprising a strap of a flexiblematerial extending between opposed sides of the assembly, each end ofthe strap connected to the band to form a handle for the assembly.